The Summer of 2020: When Bryan Adams Became a WhatsApp Uncle

Coronavirus

The Summer of 2020: When Bryan Adams Became a WhatsApp Uncle

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Illustration: Reynold Mascarenhas

The pandemic has introduced us to some harsh realities, like the healthcare system across the world is fragile, Donald Trump is delusional, and that our childhood music hero Bryan Adams is a WhatsApp uncle.

The Canadian rockstar took to Instagram to post an explosive rant on the pandemic. The post, which is still online with comments disabled, read, “Tonight was supposed to be the beginning of a tenancy of gigs at the @royalalberthall, but thanks to some fucking bat eating, wet market animal selling, virus making greedy bastards, the whole world is now on hold, not to mention the thousands that have suffered or died from this virus. My message to them other than “thanks a fucking lot” is go vegan.” The post was accompanied by a song titled Cuts Like A Knife.

 

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CUTS LIKE A KNIFE. A song by me. Tonight was supposed to be the beginning of a tenancy of gigs at the @royalalberthall, but thanks to some fucking bat eating, wet market animal selling, virus making greedy bastards, the whole world is now on hold, not to mention the thousands that have suffered or died from this virus. My message to them other than “thanks a fucking lot” is go vegan. To all the people missing out on our shows, I wish I could be there more than you know. It’s been great hanging out in isolation with my children and family, but I miss my other family, my band, my crew and my fans. Take care of yourselves and hope we can get the show on the road again soon. I’ll be performing a snippet from each album we were supposed to perform for the next few days. X❤️ #songsfromisolation #covid_19 #banwetmarkets #selfisolation #bryanadamscutslikeaknife #govegan🌱

A post shared by Bryan Adams (@bryanadams) on

Amy Go, president of the Chinese Canadian National Council for Social Justice, criticised the singer, saying, “This is so irresponsible and just so, so, so, so racist. People look up to public figures. He is seen as an idol by many.” She also hinted at the fact that the post could stoke hatred for Chinese-Canadians.

It took the internet no time to cancel Adams, whose views are similar to that of uncles who believe everything they receive as a WhatsApp forward.

Many slammed him for promoting conspiracy theories like the virus originating in a lab, or spreading from someone eating a bat, neither of which have been proven.

Others had a field day with Bryan Adams’ meltdown. The plot twist from a rant about the coronavirus to asking people to go vegan could have its own Oscar category. Others were simply shocked to learn this about someone they adored 30 years back.

All the outrage forced the singer to issue an apology. “Apologies to any and all that took offence to my posting yesterday. No excuse, I just wanted to have a rant about the horrible animal cruelty in these wet-markets being the possible source of the virus, and promote veganism. I have love for all people and my thoughts are with everyone dealing with this pandemic around the world.” Along with the post, he shared a song that he would have performed at the Royal Albert Hall, titled Into The Fire.

The apology didn’t sit down well either with fans. Or should we say former fans? It was further criticised for being unrepentant and making excuses for racism.

PETA issued a statement in favour of Adams, with Senior VP Dan Mathews stating, “Wet markets’ and disease-ridden slaughterhouses around the world are superhighways for contagion and must be closed now. Humans brought this pandemic upon themselves through their addiction to meat, and the surest way to prevent future outbreaks is to stop supporting slaughter by going vegan.”

While some have cancelled Bryan Adams, can we also cancel 2020? We are not ready for these surprises yet.

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